Atherogenic index of plasma is related to coronary atherosclerotic disease in elderly individuals: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Dyslipidaemia plays an important role in coronary atherosclerotic disease (CAD). The relationship between the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) and CAD in elderly individuals was explored in this study. METHODS: Elderly individuals (age ≥ 65 years) who underwent coronary angiography from January 2016 to October 2020 were consecutively enrolled in the study. RESULTS: A total of 1313 individuals, including 354 controls (non-CAD) and 959 CAD patients, were enrolled. In univariate analysis of all populations, the adjusted AIP (aAIP) in the CAD group was 1.13 (0.96, 1.3), which was significantly higher than that in the controls [1.07 (0.89, 1.26)]. However, in subgroup analyses, this phenomenon was only present in males. In addition, further study showed that aAIP was positively related to CAD severity. In binary logistic regression analyses, after adjusting for sex, age, smoking status, primary hypertension (PH), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), heart rate (HR), white blood cell (WBC) and platelet (PLT), AIP remained independently related to CAD in elderly individuals and was superior to traditional and other nontraditional lipid indices. Subgroup analyses showed that AIP independently influenced CAD risk in males. Ultimately, sensitivity analyses were performed excluding all coronary emergencies, and the final results were similar. CONCLUSIONS: AIP was positively related to the risk and severity of CAD in elderly individuals and was superior to traditional and other nontraditional lipid profiles. However, this association only exists in elderly males. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12944-021-01496-8.